Overview

The City of Brandon’s municipal wastewater treatment history starts in 1963 with the construction of the waste water lagoons. Prior to this point there was no treatment of wastewater and the Assiniboine River received the City’s waste water and was expected to assimilate all of the waste load. The lagoon system consisted of a sewage pumping station located at the current Wastewater Treatment Facility site as well as a grit removal system. In 1975 an aeration system was added at the wastewater treatment site to reduce the organic components of the wastewater. In 1994 one of the lagoon cells was converted into a stand alone treatment system to treat the wastewater generated by Ayerst Organics. This method of wastewater treatment for the entire City continued until 1994 when the current treatment system was put into operation. The current system consists of primary treatment and secondary treatment as well as disinfection.

The Primary Treatment System consists of bar screens, a grit removal device and fine screens. The primary treatment facility uses mechanical means to reduce the organic compounds of the wastewater. The waste products that are removed from the waste stream are disposed of in the City’s landfill site. Secondary treatment is provided by the use of sequencing batch reactors to further reduce the organic components of the waste stream. The sequencing batch reactors use biological means to reduce the strength of the wastewater. The treated wastewater is then disinfected by the use of ultraviolet light to reduce the number of pathogens in the treated wastewater. The final treated effluent is then either discharged directly to the Assiniboine River, or if the effluent is not of sufficient quality, it sent to the lagoon system for final treatment and ultimate release to the Assiniboine River. The lagoons are also used for storage and stabilization of solids removed from the treatment process. The stabilized solids are applied to agricultural land on an annual basis.